Gypsy Travelers
by mquest
Summary: A series of unfortunate events lead to Maria and The Captain being rescued by a band of Gypsies for a night. If they had thought the circumstances leading up to them being rescued was bad the outcome of the night is worse. Or is it?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-Gypsy to the rescue

For the life of him, the Captain, couldn't figure out where his young governess had the nerve to shoot him daggers from her seat across the carriage. This entire nightmare of a day had been all her fault, he mused, as he scratched at the collar of his drying shirt. Giving up on propriety, he unbuttoned the two top buttons of the stiff garment. At this point, what did it matter? He had long ago lost his jacket to a puddle of mud and his pants were now crackling dry with the remnants of the same mud. What would two loose buttons do to further damage his reputation?

Meanwhile, the good Fraulein Maria sat opposite him, with a look in her eyes that spoke death. Mostly his death, if he uttered even a word to her. He mimicked her expression right back at her, for if she _even _looked like she were to open her mouth, he was sure he would wring her neck! Then the wagon hit a hard bump in the road and the Fraulein had to cross her arms over her chest to keep her feminine assets from escaping the mid-drift tied silk shirt she was wearing and his hands thought of going to other places on her body. He cursed her again when her milky white bare leg poked through the slit of the scarf skirt that was wrapped around her waist, her own clothes having been discarded in the same puddle as his jacket.

He couldn't help his eyes from traveling up the shapely leg. It may have been a hell of a day. There had been times when he had wanted to kill her, but then there were other times that he…well, he was still a man. And he was going to look but so were their other fellow traveling companions. When the man sitting right next to Maria licked his lips while his eyes traveled the same route his own just had the Captain cleared his throat bringing the man's attention to his face. Then he narrowed his eyes in the inherent way of man that said…mine…back off. Even when there was a language barrier, all men understood that look. Lucky for him, these men did as well.

They didn't need to know that he was only protecting his young governess who was simply on loan to him from the Abbey. They didn't need to know that the girl had intentions of becoming a nun. If they thought that they were a couple instead of employer and employee, then so be it. It was his job to keep her safe and he would do so by any means. Yes that's right…noble…that's what his intention were, tapping down the jealously raging through his veins.

These men were not going to lay a hand on her. Then his eyes once again found hers and he wondered if he was going to be able to keep that very same promise. As once again he fought with either wrapping his hands around her neck or twining his fingers through her hair and pushing her against the nearest solid surface and… He stopped himself there. Get a hold of yourself, old man. It's been a long day and it will be an even longer night if you keep thinking like that.

Rubbing the knot that had formed between his eyes he thought back to earlier this morning. He had never imagined while sharing breakfast with his family and friends before embarking on the journey to their Adriatic Sea vacation that this day would have ended up like this. Noting the time on his watch, he thought, I'm supposed to be relaxing in a luxurious seaside retreat right now. Instead he was bouncing around in the back of a wooden carriage with his governess and a band of gypsies. How in the hell did this happen? Looking upon the woman sitting across from him, he found his answer. Her! His mind screamed as his fingers twitched in danger, it was all her fault. So why in the world was she sitting there with that upturned chin and indignant look in her eyes pointing at him? Wasn't it she who hadn't performed her job and wasn't it her fault that the train had left without them? Yes, he reassured himself, yes it was.

"This is all your fault." His eyebrows almost reached his hair line as she said the same words he had just uttered in perfect time with his own. He nearly had to sit on his hands to keep them from reaching out for her throat. But then her lower lip started to quiver slightly and he saw the toll the day had had on her as well. He was being a twit and the old gypsy lady who had loaned Maria the clothes let him know that she thought so as well. The old woman, who was either 105 or twenty- five, Georg couldn't tell there was so much grime on her, swatted him in the arm and pushed him towards Maria. Sliding onto the wooden bench next to Maria, Georg shot the old woman a look. She had one tooth in her mouth, or at least so he thought, for when she spoke once in a while he'd see a flash of white somewhere near the back of her mouth. He focused on that since he didn't understand a word the woman was saying. He only caught bits and pieces of it and simply agreed with her. He thought he had picked up on the words, happy, festival, match. Whatever the language this group of merry travelers spoke it was rather foreign to him but that hadn't stopped him from accepting their invitation for the ride. It had gotten him and Maria out of the pouring rain. He would have to go back for the car in the morning, if the mud hadn't swallowed it whole by then. With the luck that they had had today, he was sure the car now rested somewhere near the earth's core. That would have been the perfect end to an already perfect day. It really couldn't get much worse, or so he thought.

When the old lady took his hand and placed it on top of Maria's that rested in her lap, Georg had to mask the hitch in his breath. Christ, old woman, stop tempting fate, he thought to himself. Patting their hands the old woman uttered, "tis good, yes, I think." in very broken German. He could feel his chest constrict as the sensations of Maria's skin tickled under his palm. Not being able to resist, he slid his thumb along the ridge of her knuckles, turning his head to meet her eyes, he watched the impact of his touch wash over her.

There had been times today when he thought that he had seen the same flicker of desire in her that burned in him. When they were arguing, when they weren't arguing…it was there… right under the surface. He had dismissed it though, just as he tried to dismiss it within himself, making excuse after excuse for what he had been feeling today- actually for weeks now. Ever since she had argued with him about his children dripping wet from the lake water there had been this tiny flame that would build inside him when he would catch her eye. Once in while he thought he saw the same in her. Swiping his thumb over her skin again to make sure he was right, he saw it again as she struggled with her breathing. No, he hadn't imagined it. Nor was he imagining the open invitation her eyes were unwittingly giving him right now as her gaze lowered to his lips. Well, he thought, two can play at this game and against all reason he lowered his own eyes to her lips just as her tongue flicked out to moisten them. Oh good lord! Did she have any idea what she was doing to him? No, she couldn't. She was much too innocent for her own good. And that's what was driving him crazy. Her innocence. Somewhere deep inside him day by day this need was building to claim it for his own. He wanted nothing more than to latch on to it and tuck it into himself and shield it from the rest of the world. Even if it meant to do so would be to destroy it.

He was in a daze now. His head becoming the subject of some unknown gravitational pull directly towards the young Frauleins lips. If it hadn't been for the old lady patting their hands and breaking the spell he was sure he would have made a complete fool of himself. Though judging from the Frauleins startled reaction, he wouldn't have been the only one. Sitting back against the frame of the carriage they both looked wondrously at the old lady who was laughing and shaking her head at them. "Soon, Soon," she muttered then closed her eyes drifting off to sleep.

Soon wasn't soon enough for this day to end, Georg thought to himself while he regained his composure. He didn't even know at this point where they were going. Hell at this point they could have been completely turned around in their travels and heading right back from which they came. The thought of which sent him into a fit of laughter. Much to the ire of Maria, "Are you laughing at me?" She asked defensively while crossing her arms more tightly across her chest making her cleavage blossom abundantly more out of the makeshift shirt. Glancing up to heaven the Captain asked the lord for what he was punishing him for. For really this had to be some sort of test that God was giving him. And he didn't think he was going to pass it. Before this night was over he was either going to compromise an innocent woman or he was going to commit the murder of the said innocent woman. When she narrowed her eyes at him one last time and licked her lips at the same time he added another choice…both.

So he decided to do what any man would do in this situation. Completely anger the object of his musing to the point of delirium. Like he said…two can play at this game.

"Why would I laugh at you? Hmmm…Fraulein?" He added just enough cynicism to his voice to piss her off. Hell, what was he talking about? It was enough to piss himself off. "Woman—you had one job today. Get yourself and the children onto the train. How hard is that?"

Her posture shot up at his accusation. Her nose pointing straight up and jutting her chin out on her guffawed, "Wha…" But he cut her off before she could even utter a single word in her own defense.

"Max got on the train. Elsa got on the train. The children got on the train. I WAS on the train. But not you, oh no…YOU had to go chasing after that ridiculous hat!" He smacked the brim of the ugly leather brown hat, the only original piece of her clothing that had survived the day somehow, so that it fell down into her face.

She made a noise deep in her throat. "Hmmm…" it roared throughout the carriage. If he had to describe it, it was somewhere between a sigh and a growl. Biting his lip to hide the snicker that threatened to widen his face he recognized it as the sound she made whenever he pushed just the right button. He cleared his throat in an attempt to stifle his chuckle. Truth be told…he loved that sound.

"I wouldn't have had to chase after the hat if you had simply did what I asked when we were on the platform and had taken Gretl's hand!" She shot back at him. He gritted his teeth against her spoken truth. Okay-so maybe he had been a little distracted on the crowded platform—but still it was her job to care for the children. That's what he paid her for! It wasn't his fault that he had grabbed the wrong child's hand when she had asked for his help. It was windy on the platform. The wind had just lifted the dress of her skirt revealing parts of her leg never seen before by man. And honestly he had only looked for a moment when he realized he wasn't the only one looking. There had been a group of soldiers taking it in as well. And they were looking all too ready to come over and offer her some assistance as she tried to hold onto Marta and Gretl and keep her skirt down at the same time. So when he had approached her he had been eyeing down the group of soldiers with his –back –off look—and only half paid attention to her when she asked him to take Gretl's hand. Not taking his eyes off the smiling faces of the soldiers the Captain had reached around the sea of people for the nearest small hand. He had grabbed the first one he felt and pulled the child to the train still watching the soldiers to make sure none tried to approach _his_ governess.

It wasn't until he and all of his crew along with Max and Elsa were half way down the hall of their train compartment that he opened up his ears to the young child tugging on the tail of his jacket.

"Are you taking me to my mommy?" The little voice asked. A little voice that was much different than his Gretl's. Glancing down at the child that he had still held firmly by the hand he saw a blond headed little boy with big blue eyes looking up at him. At that point he may have screamed like a little girl, and then again, when he looked out the nearest compartment window to see his youngest daughter standing alone on the train platform looking lost and ready to cry. However he was positive that he did indeed scream like a teenage girl flocky a current heartthrob when he felt the wheels of the locomotive start to churn. How was he sure of this? Because it was the very unmanly sound that drew the good Frauleins attention to his faux pas and caused her to run off of the now moving train to Gretl.

In a matter of sixty seconds that stilled swirled around his memory like the eye of a tornado, he and the Fraulein managed to exchange the lost child with his mother for Gretl. They had run along the platform and managed to hand Gretl over to Max and settle her onto the moving skirt of the train. He had even managed to grab ahold of the Fraulein with one arm and the handle of the moving car with his other and was about to swing her onto the train when her hat blew off her head from the wind. And in a move that still confounded his mind she had wretched her arm out of his grip and went to save the retched thing. Thus sending them into a series of unfortunate events for the rest of the day that had ended with his car being sucked into a sink hole in a dirt road where the Gypsies they traveled with had found them and rescued them from the top of his automobile.

They were covered in mud and soaked clear down to the third layer of their skin. Georg was absolutely sure that if he squeezed his forearm, mud would shoot out from his pores. He had been left with no alternative than to except the Gypsies gracious offer for a ride into the nearest town. As it was, daylight had been leaving them at the time and was now just a distant memory as the town loomed low on the horizon beneath them. The carriage squeaked along on its journey while he and the Fraulein continued to declare why they thought the other was at fault for the horrible day. In the end, just as the carriage came to a halt, they agreed on just one thing and both got the last words in.

"It's all your fault!" They chimed together as they climbed out of the wagon.

_**DECLARATION:I DO NOT OWN THE SOUND OF MUSIC. ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS OR ITS STORYLINE. OTHER THAN WHAT I ADD TO THE ORIGINAL STORY LINE HERE, ALL OF THE SOUND OF MUSIC AND ITS CONTENT BELONGS TO ROGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN AND THEIR PRODUCERS. **_

_**A/N : SO I HAD THIS IDEA FOR A STORY ABOUT ANOTHER WAY THAT THE CAPTAIN AND MARIA COULD COME TOGETHER. ITS JUST SOMETHING I THOUGHT WOULD BE FUNNY. IT'S GOING TO BE VER AU SO IF THAT'S NOT YOUR SORT OF THING, YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO READ THIS. I TRY TO KEEP THEIR CHARACTERS AS CLOSE TO THE SCREEN CHARACTERS AS POSSIBLE, BUT THE STORY WILL BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.**_

_**LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU ALL THINK OF IT SO FAR. REVIEWS, EVEN THE CRITICAL ONES, HELP KEEP A WRITER WRITING.**_


	2. Chapter 2 A Festival to Forget

Chapter 2: A Festival to Forget

The Captain hadn't seen so many covered wagons gathered in one place since his childhood. There were wagons with ornate curtains adorning them. There were wagons that advertised medicinal cures and fortune telling. There were wagons from one story to three stories high. If he thought that the obvious preferred mode of transportation was odd, the horses themselves left him in a bit of a shock. Never before had he seen such decorated horses in his life. Even the King and Queen of the once Austro-Hungarian Empire hadn't dressed their horses quite as fancy as these.

He would have taken it all in a little more, but their gracious hosts seemed to be in a bit of a rush as they ushered them through the crowded streets of the very small town. He was trying to get his bearings and looking around the small village for any sign that would give me a hint as to where they had ended up for the night. However his quest was made quite difficult in the fact that the town seemed to have become overrun with gypsies from all over the country. Which country he wasn't sure for he had driven him and Maria fairly close to the Austrian border when the car decided to land itself into the sink hole. He was almost positive that they weren't in Austria anymore. Other than that he was at a loss for he didn't understand one spoken word any of the people were speaking in the village. It was as if an entire European village had become over taken by this band of merry Gypsies.

Merry was the word that his mind was nicely calling them at the moment. For in reality, it seemed, he and Maria had unwittingly traveled into a giant gathering that these people were having. Some sort of celebration and the celebrating had started way earlier for most. He noted this as he took in a group of elderly men, half of which could barely stand on their feet at this point, who had just yelled out a most ridiculous 'hoopaah' throwing their arms around their brethren while the younger men poured a pint of beer over their heads.

The Captain watched as the wasted liquid made a dark puddle on the muddy street. What he wouldn't give to have that pint of beer back in its glass waiting for him to guzzle it down. He wasn't normally a heavy beer drinking man, but after the day he had had today, he wouldn't mind losing his mind to in its dark ale.

In fact as he faintly heard the Fraulein say, "I don't think we're in the right place," he was quite sure he utterly deserved it.

"No," he whispered in his fiercest voice, "we aren't. But," he continued as he stripped off his mud caked shirt and grabbed a hanging clean garment from outside a village home that's windows were darkened, "we're going to pretend that we are and fit in with these people." Thrusting the stolen garment into the Frauleins hand, the Captain dusted off what mud was dried to his body. Even that simple action was enough to make him feel like a new man. He could only imagine how he'd feel after a shower. Meanwhile the Fraulein with her mouth hanging open watched him in utter shock.

"Fraulein," he sneered at her, damn even he balked at the way he sounded right now, "decorum was lost somewhere on platform 12 back in Salzburg. If you don't want to see then …TURN AROUND."

"Uggg" she sighed while twirling around towards the street. "Hurry, we're losing our friends down the street."

"I'm going as fast as I can! I couldn't spend another minute in that shirt." Throwing the shirt on he grabbed her by the hand and tugged her down the street towards their hosts who had stopped to wait for them. The gypsies had noticed their absence and had impatiently waited for them at the entrance to what appeared to be a small inn. Oh thank God! Georg shouted in his mind. The town had an Inn. For a while he had feared that he and the Fraulein were going to have to brave the outdoors for the night. Hopefully there luck was changing and the Inn still had rooms available. But of course…luck just wasn't on his side today.

The inside of the Inn was more chaotic than the street outside. People were shouting at the manager who was complacent behind the desk. The manager was speaking in German so Georg only understood half of the shouted conversation, but what he got made him panic on the inside. It seemed there was only one reserved room left. And whoever it was that had reserved the room had another five minutes to claim it.

"Ah yes, sir. I'm here." Georg shouted over the yelling tribe standing in front of the desk. "And with five minutes to spare." Maria stood in shock next to him and was about to open her mouth, probably to ask him what in the hell he was doing when he stomped on her foot to shut her up. In a whispered tone he said into her ear, "Do you want to spend the night out in the pouring rain?" She violently shook her head while rubbing her hurting foot, "Then follow my lead."

He tugged Maria through the crowd of agitated people who were all now looking at them with death in their eyes and made his way to the desk.

"You're Bavel Boswell?" The old German behind the desk asked incredulously, looking back and forth at his registry and Georg.

"My uncle made the reservation for us. Good old Uncle Bav, he must have put it into his name instead of mine."

Georg produced his papers for the man and quickly took out a wad of cash. This put the manager's mind at ease as Georg starting putting one large bill after another on the counter. Even if the manager didn't believe the reservation was his before, he could truly care less now. That is until a Gypsy man and woman came out of the back room flanking the manager's side.

"You're here for the festival, right?" The manager asked while looking Maria and Georg up and down. "I can only rent to participants of the festival. The group has rented my Inn for the weekend."

Georg turned and looked at Maria. In the light he could see how horrible she looked. The mud was thick in her hair and it colored her normally perfectly pink complexion into a glowing brown.

"We had a bit of car trouble. Lost everything in the rain. But yes, we are here for the festival."

While the two Gypsy's and the manager conversed in the language that Georg was lost to, Maria tugged on his shirt sleeve.

"What festival? What are you telling them?" Georg began to panic when he saw the manager break eye contact with the gypsy man and look over at them. If she kept talking she was going to ruin it for the both of them and get them kicked out on the streets. Why oh why did he have to be cursed with a governess that couldn't keep her mouth shut he wondered? The manager started walking towards them and he quickly needed to shut the talking governess up. In an act of desperation he pressed his lips against hers in a fake kiss and whispered into her mouth. "One more word out of your mouth and I'm going to put you over my knee and spank you."

Georg was sure that only he heard what he had whispered to Maria. He was fairly certain the noise in the room had masked it. Although he wasn't sure if it was the noise that blocked his hearing or the rushing of his blood as it coursed through his veins. When everyone stopped to take them in, he momentarily wondered if they could all hear it as well.

And for once he had rendered the good Fraulein speechless. For she herself had stood with eyes half closed for just a second longer than necessary. When she had finally opened her eyes to him it wasn't so much the shock that he had registered but the strong flash of desire that he saw shoot from within her. It seemed to leap out to him and reach within his chest. Suddenly everyone else in the room disappear and he trembled against the need to thread his hands into her hair and give her the first true kiss of her young cloistered life.

The spell was broken for Maria when everyone in the room threw their hands up in the air and expelled the loudest, "hoo-paa" on this side of the Adriatic Sea. For Georg it had been broken when the word 'cloistered' had entered his brain. She was to be a nun. She was under his protection. For God's sakes, he was supposed to protect her innocence from every man in the world. But who the hell was going to protect her from him?

The only good thing that had come out of his whispered stolen kiss was that everyone in the room now seemed to be on his and Maria's side. He was being congratulated for something – what?-he was unsure of, nor did he care. For in an instant the key to their room was being thrust into is hand and the old Gypsy woman behind the counter as well as some merry maids that had appeared out of nowhere were now taking care of Maria. They seemed to be measuring her for something. He figured some clean dry clothes.

People were talking at them at all angles. And he understood nothing that they were saying. An even older woman came out of the back room with some sort of paperwork in her hand. She layed the papers on the counter then motioned for Georg and Maria to come over to her. She took a pen and pointed at Georg then pointed to a line on the paper. He had no idea what he was signing, and hesitated for only a moment before laying down his signature. Sure he wanted a room for the night, but for all he knew he could have been signing over the rights to his first born child. He was about to question what the paperwork was but then a clap of thunder and a show of lightning shook the little Inn on its foundation and he quickly laid pen to paper. He loved Liesl and all…but you know…he also liked to be warm and dry. Hey, you never know, she might just enjoy the life of a Gypsy. He did have five daughters; he could afford to spare just the one.

He handed the pen back to the Gypsy who took it and gave it to Maria. The old woman motioned to the young Fraulein to sign adjacent to his name. Now it was Maria's turn to hesitate. She turned questioning eyes to him and he answered her with his fiercest "I'm going to kill you if I have to sleep out in the rain" stares. Needless to say she quickly singed her name with a flourish right next to his.

Now she was returning his little half smile with her over the top "You don't have to be so mean" grins when someone grabbed his hand and in a sudden movement jabbed something sharp into one of his fingertips. When the Fraulein echoed his "oww" he realized they had done the same to her. Both of their assailants took their fingers and laid first his down on the paper leaving a bloody fingerprint and then the Frauleins on top of his, essentially mixing their blood together onto the piece of paper. They had literally signed the document in blood.

"What was that for?" Maria questioned him as everyone around them continued to get them ready for the festival. Still with no inkling as to what lay ahead for them. But he was certain it was important to these people…so therefore..it was now important to him.

"Security deposit." He answered her while watching the old lady behind the counter pour herself a tall glass of water from a jug. She had caught Georg's eye and must have seen his dying thirst in his obvious drool as the liquid spilled into the glass. Laughing she offered him up the glass and then found another one under the counter and poured one for Maria as well.

"Drink," she ordered them in odd German, "you need, yes?" Yes, Georg answered her in his mind as he and the Fraulein gratefully downed the water. It wasn't until after the first three gulps that Georg felt the fire in his throat. It wasn't simply water in that glass. The Fraulein must have realized it at the same time as he did for she also removed the glass from her lips and then looked upon him. The old woman laughed and then pushed the glasses back up to their mouths. "Tis good for you. Make it all good."

He didn't want to upset their hosts, so he wrapped his lips around his glass and then as he tipped it up to finish the liquid he whispered to his uncooperative partner in crime, "Drink it."

Of course life was not that easy with Maria. So with her lips around her own glass she tried to debate, "But.."

"Drink it!" He ordered and when he saw that she didn't dare disobey his command and started to gulp down the rest of her glass he did as well.

Before he had even gotten the glass back down to the counter top, he began to feel the effects of its contents. His head was warm and fuzzy. And his vision blurred for an instant and then focused again. Another glass of that stuff and he was going to be completely inebriated. He feared for the Fraulein though, for she was much more petite than he and was already swaying from the liquid.

He would have been more concerned but he didn't have time to care. For a group of men had come and grabbed him by the elbows dragging him away from the Fraulein as she was being dragged in the opposite direction by a group of woman. He tried to argue with them but they simply continued to carry him in a hurry down a long corridor where they dumped him into a shower room.

He was still standing there turning in circles when only a minute after they had locked him in there one of them opened the door again—with the entire group still standing behind him—and handed him an ornate suit. He looked at the garment that had been thrust into his hands and then back at the group of Gypsy men. The leader who had handed him the suit to begin with, rolled his eyes at Georg, then entered the shower room. Taking the garment he hung it on a hook behind the door and ordered something at him in the foreign language. When Georg didn't react, he made motions with his hands indicating to hurry, and then started to undress Georg.

If it hadn't been for the effects of the liquid Georg was sure he would have reacted much quicker than he had. As it was the man had gotten the shirt that Georg had just stolen less than a half an hour ago and his pants off before Georg had thrown his hand up to stop his willing helper.

"I have the rest, thank you." Georg spoke in his own language. He knew the man hadn't understood a word of what he had just spoken. However, in the world of men…there was some language that was inherently understood no matter what the barrier. And this situation required absolutely no interpretation.

The man laughed and patted Georg on his bare shoulder. Before he left the room, he turned the shower on for him and then motioned with his hands to hurry.

When he was finally left alone, Georg finished his undressing and then stepped into the steam of the shower. The heat from the water was making his head swirl faster than before. Time after time he had to grab ahold of the wall to steady himself. He didn't know what had been in that water, but man, if he could bottle it for himself he'd be a happier man at home.

Or maybe it was just the Fraulein that made him happy, he mused as he lathered soap into his hair. Yes, the day had been hell, but…it also had been wonderful.

WONDERFUL!

How absurd! He argued with himself as he rinsed. How could he even call today wonderful? It had been a day full of follies and aggravation! Yes, his mind said, but it had also been fun. When was the last time we had fun? When she hadn't been driving him insane with her crazy ways she had been entertaining him with her mind. She had told him little stories about her childhood and life at the abbey that had either made him laugh or want to hear more. Each little tale had given him a little insight into her soul. Unwittingly he had found throughout the day that a little just wasn't enough and he may never truly be a satisfied man until he owned the entire thing.

What in the hell was he thinking? He tried to argue with himself. Either he was completely out of his mind or he was completely intoxicated. He had just settled his mind of the first when the room took another violent spin that sent him straight to the floor on his bare behind. Through his laughter he surmised he had been wrong…he was drunk. And not just drunk…but DRUNK…the kind of drunken intoxication that led to dangerous things in the night.

Hmmm…scary, he thought. Hmmm…the little drunk devil in his brain answered back…dangerous things in the night with the little Fraulein. What's so scary about that?

He picked himself up off the floor and then turned the water off all the while trying to sober up the dangerous part of his brain. All you have to do is get through the night, he reasoned with himself. Tomorrow will be another day. You'll return to your family. With a fully intact and still completely innocent governess(it was so hard to reason with your drunken self, sometimes one needed to talk to oneself as if it were a child) and go on with the rest of your life. Tonight will have no impact on the rest of your life or your reputation!

Little did he know those would be his famous last words of a fool speach, as he dressed in his borrowed suit and headed out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Red Sky in the Morning, Sailor Take Warning

Sometimes when the morning was just right, the Captain could open his eyes and remember the dreams that had filled his sleep through the night. On this particular morning, where the sun shown obviously high through the curtained small window in his room, making his eyes wince in their still shut state, his dreams ran recluse away from him. Taking mercy on his lead heavy eyelids he loathed to disturb their shut state and simply cocooned himself tighter in the blankets and held onto the last wisp of a memory. Tangled sheets and limbs, lust filled sighs and strangled climatic declarations ran through his mind. But they were too much like butterfly kisses skipping through his memory. When he tried to focus and make the dream recall itself in his brain, the damn organ reared its ugly head and banged against his temples.

It had been years since he had emerged from sleep in a haze with a headache the size of the last sub he had commanded and his tongue glued to the roof of his mouth. He, Max and Elsa must have really tied one on for the first night of their coastal vacation he mused as he rolled himself onto his side- his body not yet willing to leave sleep behind and his mind still racing to hold onto the dream-if for just a bit longer.

As he relaxed back into sleep, snippets replayed themselves in his mind. They were like snapshots washed under water where the image was clouded but the memories made them come alive. He recalled golden hair sifting through his fingers like satin with skin as soft as velvet that had wrapped around his body warming him down to his core. But it was her voice. Oh that sweet seductive voice that had been his undoing as it sang through the passion that the dream had produced. He hadn't had such a dream since before he had been married. Vaguely he wondered if he wasn't losing his mind or having a second adolescence.

So vivid had been the dream, so candid had the apparition of his desires been that it seemed more like a memory than a fantasy. A fantasy that seemed destined to leave him, for even as he would recall something new the others flitted out of his mind as his body would drift to sleep then wake again, only to drift once more. Each current taking different parts of the dream back into the dark ocean of repressed memories never to be seen or heard from again. After a few more moments all traces were washed away and he was left with naught for all of his trouble.

He wondered who it had been that he had dreamt about. Clearly it hadn't been Elsa. No, not Elsa, that much he knew. The apparition had been soft and tender, warm and sweet. A sharp contrast to Elsa's cool and hard in all the right places persona. No, no, this fantasy was nothing like that…or so he thought. Dammit, why couldn't he remember? But there was something there, some lingering thought, or more feeling left from the dream. What was it? Trust, maybe? He thought hard about it. Yes, definitely trust and something else. ..faith perhaps.

Trust and faith? That sounded more like Fraulein Maria than Elsa. Hah…had he had a sex dream about the young virtuous Fraulein? And why did he find that hard to believe? It certainly wouldn't be the first time. However, feeling a certain portion of his body stick to the sheets, it would have been the first time to end with that kind of effect. Actually he knew for certain he hadn't had a dream that had ended in quite such a fashion since he had been a teenager and now he was certain he was going through a second adolescence.

Unsticking his body from the sheets he tossed around in the hard bed. The coarseness of the sheets rubbed against his bare skin. Why on earth had he slept naked? The question had entered his mind fleetingly but it was quickly washed away as he cursed the blasted hotel for their choice in linen. For such an expensive resort on the French coast one would think that they would have Egyptian cotton covering their beds instead of…horse hair! My goodness the navy provided higher quality linens than this resort. Elsa was sure to let him know her disapproval as soon as they met for breakfast.

Talking about breakfast, he cracked one eye open against the sun and then quickly shut it as a sharp pain crashed through his skull. He may have missed it, for it seemed the sun was as high as noon and just as bright. Trying once again he opened his eyes and slightly lifted his head up to find a clock, but a sudden spout of dizziness sent him back to the pillow. He felt as if his entire body was made of lead. Yet again making him wonder just how much he, Elsa and Max had drank last night. Hoping against hope he hadn't done anything to make a fool of himself all the while.

No wonder he couldn't remember the dream. He couldn't remember _anything_ from last night. As a matter of fact he didn't even remember arriving at the resort. Stretching sleep from his limbs he tried to file quickly through his memories. He remembered something about a hat and the Fraulein. And the train leaving…without him…wait a minute…his mind screamed. You're not at the resort you fool! You're stuck in the middle of nowhere with the Fraulein.

The Fraulein! Goodness! Now where had she gone to, he wondered? Had he lost her too as he had lost himself last night in the alcohol? He was in mid-stretch and trying his best to remember just where he had deposited his children's governess last night when the bundle of blankets in front of him stirred. He froze in place with his hands above his head…_my god_…his mind whirled…_you're not alone in this bed_.

In a fragment of a second he uttered the quickest prayer of his life…please, please, please God in heaven don't let this be…the prayer ended on a silent scream as the Frauleins face poked out from under the covers looking—for god's sakes-sated.

Had he have thought about it, the most logical move at this point would have been to cautiously and quietly remove himself from the bed and slink himself off to the restroom. A regal man would have covered his misdeed up by hiding clues and coming up with some deceitful lies. A refined man would have at least put some clothes on his bare ass before any questions could have been raised.

For all of his expensive and expanded education did he do any of these things? For heaven's sakes, no, he acted just as any other man would have after realizing he had befouled an innocent girl. Instinctively he smacked the sleeping Fraulein away from him, grabbing the blanket to cover himself whilst jumping from the bed. Only to be stopped by the wall that held him up halting his wish to fall to the floor and hide from his crime under the bed.

"You fool," he cursed out loud, "what have you done?"

He never knew how many different thoughts could run through his mind at one time in a millisecond. He ran the gauntlet of berating himself to rationalizing that it all could be an innocent misunderstanding before the Fraulein could even open her eyes to consciousness. All thoughts ceased, as she began to stir in the bed and he simply took her in. She was wearing a thin white slip that ended near her waist line. He knew this for he could see the seam that rested right where the sheet covered her lower body. Thank goodness for that! Now if he could only ascertain if she was somehow clothed underneath those sheets, then it all could be innocent enough. _Right?_

He didn't bother to answer himself for all concern had stopped about him and was now focusing on the poor young Fraulein fighting off the effects from last night just as he had only moments ago. Only she wasn't doing quite as well as he had.

First she had barely cracked her eyes open trying her best to focus. Then she had let out a small fragile, "Captain?", before raising her hand to her temple moaning, "ohh my head!" In a rookie mistake she fought the remaining effects from last night's intoxication by sitting up too quickly against it. Thus bringing her hand to her mouth, "I'm going to be sick," she cried while fighting with the sheets to free herself. Flying from the bed she headed for the only other door in the tiny room and disappeared behind it quickly.

As fast as she was, she wasn't quite fast enough to beat the fabric falling down her bare backside. She was just as naked as he underneath that slip. While filing this information away in his head his eyes focused on the last remaining piece of evidence to convict him of his crime. There on the bed, where she had vacated the spot, was a crimson red stain.

His legs went weak and he buckled to his knees onto the bed. "Oh lord," he cried on barely an audible whisper, "forgive me. I…I…" But what, he questioned running his fingers roughly through his hair in a vain attempt to jog his memory. What had he done? The evidence was clear to him, but there was absolutely no memory of it. None- what so ever. So what really had he done?

From behind the door he could hear the Fraulein fighting against losing her stomach contents. Inside he cringed as he heard her innocent weeping against the violence of the sickness. This had probably been the first time she had ever awakened in her life with a hangover. It was, most assuredly, the first time she awoke no longer a virgin.

"You know what you have done. She may be too naïve to know, but you do, you animal. How could you?" He ran a hand across the sticky damp stain, "How could you steal her innocence like a thief in the night?"

He had been so busy reprimanding himself, that he hadn't heard it go quiet in the bathroom. From behind the door the tiniest voice asked, "I'm sorry Captain, did you say something to me?"

Had she heard him? "Ah," he tried to think of something intelligent to say but his mind was still going in a thousand directions, thankfully his subconscious was still of sound mind and he finally whispered against the door, "I was just asking if you were alright, Ma…Fraulein." Did I hurt you? Was I rough with you? Will you ever forgive me? He really wanted to ask those questions and more. But he wasn't quite ready to face the answers yet, so he continued to play the gentlemen that he knew far too well that he wasn't. The question was did she know? Or was she like him, with no memory at all?

"I'm sorry, Captain." She apologized before turning on the sink water, sending him scurrying for his pants. Quickly finding them he listened to her through the door while holding the handle so that she couldn't open it before he was done dressing and strategically covering the bed. "I've never felt like this before." He heard her splashing the water around and winced at her confession. "My head is coming off and my stomach, oh my stomach. And I feel so…so…" don't say it. Please don't say it he pleaded in his head only to hang his head low when she whispered, "sore."

You monster, he cursed himself again. You hurt her! He yelled in his mind making the poor muscle reel from the pounding. It may have been all silent, but his head still couldn't take it. Yet that didn't stop him from continuing his own onslaught, he deserved nothing less in his own opinion. How could you do that to the poor girl, he asked himself while coming up with his own defense…I wouldn't. You wanted her, don't even try to deny it, he argued back…yes but, I wouldn't just take her. I wouldn't, he sank down on the bed with his still undressed shirt in his hands and covered his face. Would I? Why couldn't he remember?

He barely heard the door to the bathroom creak open. He wanted nothing more than to just sit there with his head in his hands, but he had to face her at some point. So he slowly raised his head to see the Fraulein wrapped in a robe that she must have found in the bathroom looking in a much worse state than him, rubbing her temples feverishly trying to relinquish her headache. Her eyes scanned the little room, stopping momentarily on the bed and making his heart stop. Quietly they rested onto him and he saw the many questions that lay behind her eyes. Questions he wasn't ready to face yet.

Yet, her being who she was and never able to hold her tongue, they just had to be voiced.

"Captain?" She began then quickly stopped to scan the bed again. He made a point to look behind him. He knew she couldn't see the stain for he had covered it up, but her eyes rested right where he knew it was. "Captain," she was so hesitant that it broke his heart and he almost wanted to confess. But how do you tell a saint that you're the devil? "Did…did…" uggg, she was killing him with her innocence, "did something happen last night?"

"Whatever do you mean, Fraulein?" Oh yes he was surely a demon for how else could he explain his answer to her?

"I…I…" she blinked against her own confusion knitting her eyes at the brow. "Did we sleep in the same bed last night?" She didn't quite ask the hidden meaning behind the question, but he knew that it was there.

Tell her you fool! She deserves to know his subconscious piped in, only to be beaten back by the new demon that lived inside of him. For it was he that answered her with, "I believe we did Fraulein. But I have no memory of any impropriety on either of our parts so I do believe I was a gentleman and your innocence is still intact." And if that wasn't enough to convince her he ended it with a, "What kind of man do you take me for?"

If his words weren't enough to shame him, then the violent blush that colored her cheeks was and he looked to the floor not able to meet her eyes any longer. He didn't understand why he simply couldn't tell her the truth, except that he knew he just simply couldn't. He wasn't a man after all, he was a coward.

"I'm sorry Captain. I didn't mean to accuse you. I just…I just can't remember any of last night…at all."

Speaking to the floor he replied, "Well Fraulein, if there isn't anything to remember than nothing happened, right?"

"Right?" She more asked than confirmed while running her fingers through her already tousled hair.

Letting out a long sigh, he stood to face her. She looked so fresh and pure. Even with her red rimmed eyes and the effects of last night still lingering on her face, he simply couldn't shatter her. He may not have any memory of last night, but his fingertips seem to and they reached out without his approval and traced a soft line down her cheek. To his surprise she didn't jump from his touch. Instead she brought her trusting eyes up to meet his and his heart skipped a few measures of beats.

Confess his mind yelled but all he could muster was, "I would never willingly hurt you, Fraulein. Please know that."

She silently nodded her head, his touch having caught her breath in her throat. Even after everything that he had realized this morning. Learning what a monster he had been with her last night, realizing that he had used her body without her permission. For how could she have given it under the circumstances, even with all of this knowledge, it still didn't stop him from wanting to capture her pretty pink lips with his own. This was a new low even for him.

Before he could bring his own demise full circle he dropped his hand from her face. "Why don't you go and shower while I try to procure you some clothing. We need to start out for the car as soon as possible."

"Yes, Captain." She replied all too submissively and he briefly wondered if he had indeed shattered her spirit after all.

_**A/N SORRY THIS UPDATE TOOK SO LONG. I WASN'T SURE HOW TO MOVE THE STORY ALONG, BUT I THINK I HAVE FIGURED OUT SOME PATH FOR IT AT THIS POINT. **_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE SOUND OF MUSIC. **_


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